


Love, Selfish Love

by fnowae



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Holy shit I'm posting again, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mindless Fluff, just...read it, this is random
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 08:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fnowae/pseuds/fnowae
Summary: Joe and Patrick have always loved being risky.





	Love, Selfish Love

**Author's Note:**

> What the McFuck
> 
> I wrote and posted a fic twice in one day ??? Impossible. I guess my crippling fear of volcanoes really does make me write more. 
> 
> This is short and sweet and just how I like it lol 
> 
> (By the way, the volcano was fucking cool. We saw lava and shit. It freaked me the fuck out but it was still awesome.)
> 
> Anyways. Enjoy!

Joe and Patrick have always loved being risky. 

Not risky in a sticking-your-hand-in-fire-and-hoping-nothing-happens way, more in an edging-the-PDA-line-so-hard-it's-impossible-that-no-one-really-notices way. 

They've been like this since the moment they first got together, when they'd exchanged confessions of love in a dark hotel room and subsequently tumbled onto the bed with lips latched together, even though this was the room Patrick and _Pete_ were sharing. Pete could've walked in on them making out at any second, but somehow, that didn't stop them. If anything, it hung in the air as an exciting possibility, like they were challenging Pete to walk in, just to see what would happen. 

They even mentioned it, briefly, afterwards, in a simple conversation that went something like:

"What would've happened if Pete did come in?"

"I don't know."

"Were you worried?"

"Yeah, but...it was weird. I kind of almost liked the worry."

"Yeah."

And that was that. 

It didn't stop there. They keep taking risks any time they can. They make out in the bathrooms of crowded clubs, but somehow no one ever walks in. They hold hands in public, but no one around them at the time ever seems to care. They overuse pet names loudly in busy places, but no one ever hears. (This last one becomes a sort of game as to who can fit the most unnecessary endearments into a single conversation, which results in sentences that vary from "Babe, can you pass the salt?" to "Sweetheart, if you don't take your hands off of _my_ fucking cereal, I may have to dismember you".)

And yet, and yet, and yet. No one ever catches on. No matter how daring they get - kissing in the middle of a crowded restaurant, holding hands during a meet and greet where, of course, they _know_ they're surrounded by fans - no one seems to pay any attention. 

Pete and Andy pick up on it, of course, but even they don't ever really acknowledge it. They just accept that Joe and Patrick are together, because what else would they do? It simply becomes natural for the two to be inseparable, kissing or cuddling or holding hands twenty-four-seven. 

And they know, they do, that it's possible every day for them to get caught, to become a bright and bold tabloid headline, but here's the secret - they don't really care. At least, mostly. Neither of them are keen about announcing their relationship themselves, but they agree that if they were outed accidentally because of their bold attempts to get caught - that's really what it is, they're really _trying_ to get caught - it really would be easier. The thing is, they just can't seem to actually get caught. 

And when they finally do, it's the one time they weren't actually trying to. 

They're wandering a park together, and yeah, they're holding hands, but that's not what gets them caught, not in the end. Joe seems a little jumpy, so Patrick is rubbing circles in the back of Joe's hand with his thumb, hoping to calm his nerve-wracked boyfriend down. It doesn't seem to be doing anything, though. 

They reach the side of a large pond, the surface of which is reflecting the beauty of the setting sun, and Joe stops Patrick with his free hand, and says, "Hey, hon, can we stop for a minute?"

Patrick frowns. "Sure, yeah. Is everything okay?"

"Uh, yes. Yes," Joe stutters out, still nervous. 

Patrick's heart skips a beat, because the first thought he has is that Joe is about to break up with him. His heart almost stops when he fully processes the concept. It's not possible, is it? He's so consumed with his fear that he doesn't notice Joe is kneeling until-

"Will you marry me?"

Patrick chokes. He actually chokes. His hand flies to his mouth in surprise and his eyes widen and he's staring at the shimmering diamond ring in Joe's hand and _oh, holy shit_ , Joe is proposing to him. 

Joe looks even more nervous, and asks, "Patrick? Are you okay?" and Patrick realizes this must look like a rejection, but it's not, it's not, and the first thing that comes to mind to tell Joe this is to pull Joe into his arms and kiss him. 

"Yes, yes, yes," he mutters into the kiss, unable to stop himself from grinning like a madman. He pulls back and bursts into laughter. "I thought you were going to break up with me!"

Joe's face shifts to a look of shock. "I - I could never - Patrick, oh my god, no! I just - I thought you were going to say no!"

"You idiot!" Patrick bursts out, and continues, each word punctuated by laughter, "Of course I'll fucking marry you! Oh my god!"

And now they're both laughing, collapsing into each other's arms, holding each other close, and somehow Joe manages to get the ring onto Patrick's finger as Patrick laughs into his neck. 

They stay there, in each other's arms, for what must be a million eternities, and then Joe finally peels himself away.

"Let's go home," he says softly, still beaming. 

"Okay," Patrick agrees, smiling back at his fiancé - his _fiancé_! "Okay."

And they do go home, and everything is great, of course it is! It feels like a moment out of a movie to Patrick, like it couldn't have just happened. The sun setting over the surface of the pond as Joe held out a ring, and - god, Patrick is on the verge of giggling like a teenage girl right now. 

They fall asleep tangled together, and Patrick refuses to take the ring off yet, not even to sleep, because having it on feels like a reassurance that everything is going to be okay. 

But then he wakes up and everything is not okay. 

The first thing he sees is Joe sitting up in bed, staring at the screen of his phone in concern. Patrick edges over towards him, frowning. 

"Babe? What's wrong?" he asks, sitting up and wrapping his arms around Joe's torso. 

Joe jumps and puts the phone down upside down so Patrick can't see what he was looking at. Patrick's frown deepens. 

"Joe?" he asks. "Is everything okay?"

Joe doesn't say anything, just picks the phone back up and shows Patrick what he'd been looking at. Patrick sees it, and his heart drops. 

It's them - it's their _moment_. Joe is down on one knee holding the ring and Patrick has one hand clasped over his mouth and the other clenched in a fist at his side, which he remembers doing because he was surprised. They're silhouetted against the setting sun and the shining surface of the pond behind them, but their forms aren't dark enough that you can't tell it's them. It's from a distance, but close enough that you can see the look of shock on Patrick's face and the look of pure, genuine love on Joe's. It's a beautiful picture, but there's one problem...

"Who took this?" Patrick asks, dreading the answer he thinks he already knows. 

"Some fan," Joe responds blankly. "She must've been following us, or _something_ , I don't...it's everywhere."

So this is it. After years of practically asking for it, they've been caught. They've been found out. 

Somehow, it doesn't feel as good after the fact. 

"Oh, babe," Patrick breathes out, unsure what else to say, because Joe just looks devastated. 

"I didn't think anyone would actually..." Joe shakes his head. "All these years trying to get caught, and now that we have..."

He doesn't finish. Patrick nods anyway. He understands exactly. He tightens his grip on Joe. 

"How are they taking it?" Patrick asks, hoping it's at least mostly positive. 

"Uh, okay, I guess." Joe shrugs. "There's obviously assholes - there's always assholes, but...mostly okay, I suppose."

Patrick simply nods. That's the best he could possibly hope for. 

He releases Joe briefly to check his own phone, and finds a couple "congratulations" messages from friends and family members (the one from Pete just reads "fuckin finally, idiots"). He holds onto these as a reminder that everything is still okay, still fine, and turns back to Joe. 

"Is this...is this gonna be okay?" he asks, unsure why he's suddenly nervous. 

Joe looks uncertain for a moment, then begins, "Well...short answer, eventually. Long answer, it depends on how this turns out. We...we were almost trying for this for a while now, but I don't think either of us really expected it to actually happen. Trying to get caught was a game, and we weren't supposed to win. We aren't ready, as much as we've acted like we were, tried to convince ourselves we were. But - and here's where I'm gonna get cheesy - it doesn't matter what people say, what they think. Because if nothing else, we're always gonna have each other."

Patrick kisses him on the spot, because he hasn't heard a better speech anywhere, not from anyone. He pulls back and laughs. "I wasn't expecting a big speech! Aw, honey, you're so cute when you're being sappy."

"Shut up," Joe replies, grinning and kissing him back. 

And with this - right here, right now - it almost feels like everything could turn out okay after all.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, hmu with headcanons/ideas/fucking talk to me or whatever at my tumblr, vicesandvelociraptors 
> 
> and please comment, etc. etc. 
> 
> thanks for reading !!


End file.
